I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, interested in how we collectively make sense of environmental concerns and work on them. My research draws on science and technology studies (STS) and environmental policy. I am currently working on the politics and knowledge practices behind voluntary carbon offsets in the Global North in the Climakedo project, at the University of Helsinki. I live in Brussels and am a scientific collaborator with the SPIRAL research centre at the University of Liège.

Research

My current research examines the development of voluntary carbon offsetting and its regulation in Finland and the EU, asking: how is voluntary carbon offsetting perceived as a form of climate action and what types of action does it produce amongst offset producers, policymakers and consumers?

My doctoral dissertation “Imagining energy transitions: carbon neutrality in Finland” examined energy policy debates in Finland in the 2010s, showing how a sociotechnical imaginary of carbon neutrality emerged and shaped the context and conditions for policymaking and debating energy transitions. My research spanned energy policy debates in parliament, local government, civil society, media and academia in Finland. The individual cases look at the expectations of national and local energy governance and the multiple ways different actors attempt to influence energy policy. In addition, I have examined how the German energy transition is debated in European countries proceeding with nuclear new-build (the UK, Finland and Hungary). My dissertation was funded by the Academy of Finland (DEFEND-project, 2015-2018) and DENVI (Doctoral Programme in Interdisciplinary Environmental Sciences).

Previously, I have been a visiting Fulbright Fellow at the Science, Technology and Society Fellows Program at Harvard University (2017-2018). Prior to beginning my PhD, I worked as a researcher at Finland Futures Research Centre at the University of Turku, examining the intersections of climate change policy and development policy in the Mekong region and East Africa.

I enjoy taking part in debates beyond academia and developing collaboration with other researchers. I am a board member of the Society for Environmental Social Science (YHYS ry.) and editorial member at Versus – an online platform for popularizing research. I am part of the STS Helsinki research collective and have contributed to developing the STS Helsinki Seminar series.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master’s degree in Social and Public Policy from the University of Helsinki. Prior to beginning my PhD, I worked as a researcher at Finland Futures Research Centre at the University of Turku, examining the intersections of climate change policy and development policy in the Mekong region and East Africa. My prior work focused particularly on the local development aspects of household energy technology projects in voluntary carbon markets.

Teaching

In my teaching, I have been interested in bringing science and technology studies concepts to environmental policy. I teach in the newly developed course called “The politics of environmental knowledge”, which examines how knowledge about current and historical environmental phenomena is produced, used and contested at local, national and global levels. I have been contributing to teaching environmental policy at the Bachelor and Masters levels at the University of Helsinki in the following courses: Introduction to Environmental Policy; Communication and sustainable development;  Imagination in Environmental Politics; Qualitative methods for environmental studies; Introduction to Science and Technology Studies. .

Education

2015 – 2021 Doctoral researcher, Environmental Policy Research Group, Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki

2013 – 2015 Master’s of Social Science in Social and Public Policy at the University of Helsinki

2008 – 2011 Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Environmental Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science

Interests: energy policy and transitions; expertise, publics and knowledge in environmental policy; framing and discourse; expectations and imaginaries; science and technology studies; carbon markets and development